Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa

Partner of a New Zealander Work Visa

This visa will allow you to join your partner in New Zealand. You’ll be able to get a job, and in your free time, enjoy New Zealand’s scenery, adventure, culture and friendly people.

Overview

DURATION

2 years, if you’ve been living with your partner for more than 12 months, or

1 year, if you’ve been living with your partner for less than 12 months.

With this visa you can

Come to New Zealand with your partner.

Work in New Zealand.

Study for up to 3 months.

Things to note

You don’t need to have a New Zealand job offer to apply.

You can’t include dependent children in your visa application, but they can apply for visas based on their relationship to you.

Your partner’s immigration status

Your partner must be a New Zealand citizen or resident

Your partner must provide one of the following:

a New Zealand passport

a New Zealand birth certificate

a certificate of New Zealand citizenship

a New Zealand residence class visa.

If your partner is a New Zealand resident because of their citizenship or residence status in Australia, they may provide their Australian passport, permanent residence or resident return visa.

Your relationship with your partner

You and your partner must be living together in a genuine and stable relationship

You must provide evidence that you and your partner are living together in a genuine and stable relationship.

Your evidence should show:

how long you’ve been together

how long you’ve been living together

if you’re 16 or 17, that your parent or guardian supports your partnership

you spend time together, eg photos together, emails and social media conversations between you

you share finances and other responsibilities.

To be eligible for this visa, you have to be living together when you apply.

Funds or sponsorship

You must have enough money to live on while you are in New Zealand or have an acceptable sponsor.

You must provide evidence for 1 of the following:

a salary that supports you for the length of your stay

that your employer can support you for the length of your stay

that you have enough funds to support you for the length of your stay

a Sponsorship Form for Temporary Entry completed by an acceptable sponsor.

Evidence can include:

cash

New Zealand bank accounts showing the current balance

travellers’ cheques

bank drafts

recognised credit cards with sufficient credit available

for group visas, certification from a reputable travel agency.

If you are pregnant, there are additional requirements.

Eligible NZ supporting partner

Your partner must support your work visa application, and be eligible to support a partnership-based resident visa application within 12 months

To be eligible to support a partnership based resident visa application, your partner must not:

have supported a successful resident visa application for more than one previous partner

have supported a successful resident visa application for a previous partner within the last 5 years

have included a previous partner in their own successful residence application, within the last 5 years

have themselves been included as a partner in a successful residence application, within the last 5 years

be liable for deportation, or have their deportation liability suspended.

Your partner must complete a ‘Partnership support form for Residence/temporary entry’ as evidence of their support’.

New Zealand citizens and residents can support only 1 partner for residence in a 5 year period, and support only 2 partners for residence in total.

If your partner can’t support you for residence now, but will be able to within 12 months, they can still support your work or visitor visa now.

You can read more about residence in the ‘Self-Assessment Guide for Residence in New Zealand’.

Your partner’s character

Your partner must be of good character

Your partner must meet our good character requirements or be granted a character waiver. We may ask your partner to provide a police certificate from any country they’ve spent 12 months or more in over the last 10 years . This applies whether the time was spent in one or more visits.

Your partner won’t meet our character requirements if they have any convictions for domestic violence or sexual offences. If your partner doesn’t meet our character requirements, we will consider whether they are eligible for a character waiver.

You and your partner’s plans to be in New Zealand

You and your partner must be planning to live in New Zealand for the same period of time